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Police agencies combat diminishing number of applicants

7 min read
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In this April 2018 photo, Cody Klempay, right, of Washington, is among those running as part of the physical fitness testing to be a Washington police officer.

Celeste Van Kirk

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Celeste Van Kirk

Jay Hanley of Jefferson jumps over a six-foot wall as part of the physical fitness testing to be a city of Washington police officer in this 2018 photo.

Local police departments, including Washington and Canonsburg, are struggling with a dwindling number of civil service test applicants.

Canonsburg offered its test Feb. 4 with 12 candidates. Two years ago, there were 20, according to Chief Alex Coghill.

“It’s become alarmingly low,” he said. “A decent pool for us would be 25 to 35 candidates, but the numbers aren’t there.”

Typically, the borough used to advertise the test locally and received plenty of candidates, but now it will have to advertise in the Pittsburgh market, too. Because the borough requires Act 120 certification, Coghill said they’re getting a high quality of candidates, just not enough of them.

“The problem is when you get the low numbers, they’re all on different lists,” Coghill said. “We’re getting candidates with college degrees and military backgrounds. They’re getting hired fast at other places. And we’re all having the same problem.”

Washington Chief Robert Wilson conducted the test Tuesday. There were 10 applicants, but two of them didn’t show up, and one didn’t pass the agility test. With only three names on their list from which to choose, they offered the test because they needed to hire someone.

“We went to the list, but when we contacted them, they had already gotten jobs, and we had no one to hire,” Wilson said. “That’s why we immediately had to get a new list together.”

For the last test administered in 2018, 12 applicants made the list, Wilson said. Ten years ago, he said, they had 20 to 30 applicants. Wilson said the diminishing numbers are being seen regionally, as well as statewide and nationally.

“I don’t think people want to be police officers anymore,” Wilson said. “I think it has something to do with what’s going on in the country, and police officers are seen as targets. Police officers are being killed. I don’t think there’s respect for police officers anymore.”

Coghill offered similar reasoning, saying the “national political tension,” both past and present, has made people “reevaluate the profession.”

“I believe it’s the number of officers being shot and killed – it’s been steadily increasing nationally,” Coghill said. “There’s also a real fear among police officers of being sued.”

In Fayette County, Connellsville will need to offer the civil service test soon, as the last one was in 2017, according to Cpl. Bryan Kendi. There were six applicants then, and those same names are on the current list, he said.

“We have seen a pretty significant dip in applicants when we have a police test,” Kendi said. “It’s perplexing to us because when I tested in 2010, we had about 50 to 60 people taking the test. It’s really taken a nosedive.”

Kendi said Fayette departments are having the same problem with applicants taking multiple tests and sitting on multiple municipal lists. They take the first job they get, making them unavailable to another department.

“Typically your best candidates are sucked up pretty quick,” he said. “By the time you get to the second person, those people are gone.”

Police work isn’t as popular as it once was, Kendi said, thanks to the “overall perception of police.”

“There’s been a negative connotation – especially three to five years ago – and I think it’s hurting the hiring,” he said. “I think people see the liabilities in policing and aren’t willing to put themselves out there.”

There are some in the industry that don’t think the tension surrounding police work is or should be affecting the profession.

“I’m going to 100% disagree with that thought process,” said Uniontown police Lt. Tom Kolencik. “If that animosity is bothering you, than this isn’t the job for you.”

Kolencik made the point that anytime police agencies are challenged or groups voice “anti-police” points of view or opinions, he always hears loud support for police in return, especially in recent years. He likened it to “opening Pandora’s box.”

“There were always those silent people that we didn’t know were supporting us,” he said. “Now, people have put signs up in their yard to show they support the police.”

Community members often bring his officers treat baskets or buy them coffee, Kolencik said.

“Or it’s a ‘Hey thanks for what you do,'” he said. “I never had that before.”

Kolencik said he believes the reason they too are getting fewer applicants is because there are safer, better paying jobs available in mining and the oil and gas industry. Often people will leave police academy and have difficulty finding a full-time job. Instead, he said, they’ll have to work two or three part-time jobs with multiple departments.

Still, those applicants who want to be a police officer for the community and to “make my town a better place,” there are jobs for them, Kolencik said.

“If your heart’s in this job, your attitude should be ‘I want to be a policeman to make this town a better place,'” he said. “We all like what we do. It’s a very rewarding career.”

Kendi also said that pay could be a factor in fewer applicants, although Connellsville’s department offers a starting salary of $52,000.

“We pay the most in Fayette County, and on par with the southern part of Westmoreland County,” he said.

Kendi doesn’t think higher crime rates in certain municipalities scare off applicants.

“Most cadets coming out of the academy want a job that’s going to be busy,” he said. “A lot of guys sign up for action and want to be involved in major crimes.”

But there aren’t as many cadets enrolling in the police academy, either. Dennis Marsili, director of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Criminal Justice Training Center, said the economy has something to do with that.

“The economy is getting better, so people gravitate toward jobs that aren’t as dangerous,” he said.

Other reasons for fewer cadets, Marsili said, include a perception of increased danger in law enforcement, including the “legal danger of getting sued,” as well as the “negative societal image of policing.”

“Media reports in the last five to 10 years have shown excessive force and other inappropriate behavior,” he said.

The police academy used to average 40 cadets per class; now that number is in the upper 20s, Marsili said. Ten years ago, the academy at California University of Pennsylvania was a part-time program with about 15 to 20 students.

“That’s now a full-time schedule, but last year we didn’t have enough enrollment to hold a class,” Marsili said. “We like to have at least 10 cadets.”

The number of minority cadets also has decreased, so Marsili said they’ve been trying to recruit more minority instructors to promote diversity in police work. He’s also been studying trends among today’s high school graduates and college students, trying to determine what’s steering them away from police work.

“They don’t feel that law enforcement would really be a challenge for them,” he said.

He said they’re working to develop a new version of field training for new police officers to get them more involved in the community, with educational and community-based programs and networking opportunities with community leaders.

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